Berlin's 20 best shops and markets

From luxury wares and vintage frills to German delicacies at Berlin's farmer's markets, discover Berlin’s best shopping

Shopping in Berlin is a jumble of wildly diverse elements: the traditional, with classic department stores like KaDeWe and its jolly Christmas markets; the local, with lively farmer's markets offering up the best regional produce at Winterfeldt Markt and Markthalle IX; and a love of craft, art fanzines galore at Motto or home-grown fashions at DSTM.

The best thing to do is just start walking: Berlin has no distinctive shopping centre, and some of its treasures can be found in the least expected places – a hidden inner courtyard like Kreuzberg fashionista favourite Voo – with many popping up for only weeks at a time. Berlin, with relatively cheap overheads and a massive DJ population, also has a thriving record shop scene centred around places like Oye and Hard Wax. More conventional shopping can be found on Kurfürstendamm in the west, with an Apple store and flagship Uniqlo opening in 2014. In the east, Friedrichstrasse offers a similarly upmarket selection, but with slightly younger fashions at places like the Quartier206 store. For cutting-edge designers, head to the area around Mulackstrasse in Mitte, where many have opened interesting boutiques or try Das Neue Schwarz, for haute-couture at knock-down prices. A word of warning, don't expect to do much shopping on a Sunday; laws still remain in place from a more religious age limiting trade on the day of rest. This even extends to supermarkets, with only the major train stations like Hauptbanhof allowed to keep them open.

There were originally 14 covered municipal markets opened in the late 19th century to replace the traditional outdoor varieties and increase hygiene standards. Most disappeared and this listed building was going to be sold to developers in 2009 when a trio of local

Originally one of a number of luxury Berlin department stores, it was one of the only ones to be fully rebuilt to its former glory after the war when it became emblematic of West Germany’s economic boom. The jewel in the crown of the ailing Karstadt retail group, The

The Voo concept store brings sleek fashions to an area usually associated with punkier looks. The expansive space, discreetly hidden in a courtyard off Kreuzberg’s busy Oranienstraße, is all untreated concrete walls and bold lighting, something typical of Berlin’s

A trip to Rogacki is like stepping back in time: beaming attendants in green, monogrammed uniforms stand to attention behind row after row of sparkling vitrines stuffed with all manner of prepared produce. The Rogacki store was founded in 1928 in Wedding, where current

Whereas most countries have tawdry televised MasterChef competitions, in France the title of ‘Maître’ really means something and can be applied to many culinary arts, from roasting meats to storing cheese. The chef-proprietor, Phillipe, along with his daughter

There are plenty of young Berlin designers cutting their chops at boutiques around the city, but Canadian-born Jen Gilpin’s label Don’t Shoot The Messengers is easily the definitive city look. Local influences can be read from all over: shades of Marlene

The Murkudis brothers are a design duo with the Midas touch. When Andreas Murkudis opened his cavernous new concept store in a quiet Schöneberg courtyard during Berlin Fashion Week in July 2011, there were whispers in the fashion crowd that his decision to set up shop

True to German form, their bread is dense and healthy, usually involving rye, seeds and made from sourdough: no pasty white sliced loaves here. You can find some of the best in town at this unassuming Kreuzberg bakery that even supplies some of the city’s

Manufactum was founded in 1988 by a high profile Green Party politician as a counterpoint to cheap mass production, and quickly developed a cultish following with its ironic catalogue and impeccable product selection. It continues this same tradition today with a

The Berlin-based glasses label has long been a mainstay for all fashion conscious locals since 2004, but the brand has hit the big time in recent years and some of their more experimental frames have been picked up by the likes of Lady Gaga and the Black Eyed Peas. The

Berlin has a thriving farmer’s market community and this Schöneberg institution is one of the best. In the leafy square surrounding the St. Matthias Kirche, the Winterfeldt market teems with life twice a week. Over 250 stalls pack it, stocking some traditional

A second-hand bookshop with legendary status and a whiff of bohemia: Another Country is a window into a Kreuzberg of the past. Its proprietor, Sophia Raphaeline, established the shop at a time before the area was laden with the cafés, restaurants and shops that now

You have to know what you’re looking for with this one, tucked away as it is in a disused frame factory in a courtyard just off Schlesisches Tor. Motto is Swiss by origin and Swiss in its super design consciousness. Besides pop-ups all over European art hot spots

Germany is proud of its toy-making tradition, and puts an emphasis on alternative education for children. V.Kloeden is a charming shop in West Berlin that proves that educational toys don’t need to be boring. There are shelves of picture books, some handily in both

For a taste of Saigon in Berlin, head out east to the massive Dong Xuan Center, a sprawling industrial zone in Lichtenberg. The Center is situated within four cavernous warehouses on the former site of an enormous coal and graphite processing plant (it was demolished

Previously hidden in a courtyard, this excellent designer vintage store has now migrated to a street-side shop front. Mulackstrasse is full of expensive designer boutiques and Das Neue Schwarz (which translates as ‘the new black’) is a great alternative for those

Berlin and Detroit will be forever linked by techno. Moritz von Oswald and Mark Ernestus started their Basic channel imprint in the late 80s to begin releasing the analogue, richly-textured techno being produced at the time in America’s Motor City. This was in

The most famous of Paris’ Grand Magasin, Galeries Lafayette, built itself a Berlin outpost in the mid-90s when the city underwent a post-reunification construction boom. Aptly located on the corner of Französische Straße (French street) it brings a sense of

A recent addition to Berlin’s patisseries, it’s already become one of the best, knocking out all sorts of fine French pastry, freshly-made croissants and a fabulous array of colourful macarons. All of these require extremely long hours, most places just buying in

The innocuous Moritzplatz roundabout was always a no man’s land, but there have been a fair few high-profile shops opening around there, including a high-end kitchen appliance shop, a banh-mi café and the Prince Charles nightclub. One of the first, though, was